I’m in the middle of a knitting nightmare. Perhaps it will make me feel better to show a couple of finished objects. Or perhaps I am merely procrastinating facing the difficulty of dealing with my current fiasco. Either way, here’s a little show-and-tell.

pattern: Dolores Park Cowl by Parikha Mehta
yarn: Malabrigo Chunky, in Burgundy, almost 1 skein
needles: size 13
cast on: November 9
finished: November 10
mods: none
notes: The pattern is a simple, quick way to show off a gorgeous yarn. This is a gift for someone else, but I love the color so much that I kind of wish I could keep it.

Never fear, I did make one for myself, too.

pattern: Dolores Park Cowl by Parikha Mehta
yarn: Malabrigo Chunky, in Forest, almost 1 skein
needles: size 13
cast on: November 8
finished: November 9
mods: none
notes: Um, what else can I say? I made this one because I so loved the one I made for a swap in August, in the same color. I thought this green would be a perfect color for me for fall, and I’ve been wishing for one for a few weeks now. Cowls are so much better suited to my style than scarves are. Not having grown up in cold climes, I’ve always felt a little funny wearing scarves. What to do with the dangly ends – just keep wrapping? let them flop about? stuff them down my coat so I can look super-bulky? But a cowl is just right. Nothing to worry about dangling, wrapping, flopping, or stuffing. This particular cowl is probably a little loose for real winter weather – a little too much air gets in around the neck (as opposed to the Natty Neckwarmer I made last winter, which I still love a lot) – but for fall it’s great. And I can sort of scrunch it up a bit at the back to make it closer to my neck.

Okay. Now I need to get back to my stole issues. Deep breath. Here I go.